Avatar: A Stronger Force
by programer1032
Summary: Nero has crossed paths with the Avatar and his friends while searching for Wan Shi Tong's Library in the desert. Although sceptical of Nero at first, the group soon comes to find that he can be a great friend to the team, and an even greater weapon.
1. Chapter 1: Crossing Paths

**Hello! Excited for my first work on this site. Now as a precursor, I'm not much of a writer, never have been. This is strictly for fun, so read if you want, but note that this probably won't be very good, and that there are much better works on this site than the one you are about to read. I'm just a Avatar / DMC fan with some ideas in my head. Review if you want. Thanks and enjoy!**

* * *

"Damn it!" Nero muttered as he threw down his canteen.

It landed neck down, stuck in the sand. He toyed with the idea of picking it back up, it was empty after all, and there was no sense of having it annoy him any more with the rattling sound it made in his pocket. Turning to walk away, he took a couple of paces before rolling his eyes at the desert, turning around, and trudging back to the canteen that had costed him his ten silver pieces at the market. Picking it up, he brushed it off on his coat, shook it a bit, and returned it to his pocket.

He scanned the sea of sand as he thought, "Looking for a possibly non-existent library in the middle of the desert with only one days worth of supplies? Damn it Nero what were you thinking?"

He shook the thought off as he continued his walk, recanting the events leading up to situation.

* * *

"_So what reason would some kid have for coming out to a place like this?" the bartender asked as Nero peered out the window, "You don't look like a anthropologist or a treasure hunter." He drew his swords from the sheaths on his back and prepared Nero's drink as he cut through the variety of fruits strewn across the table._

_Nero smirked at the finesse the man put into his work, and took the drink from his extended hand._

_"I travel a lot. I was nearby and I heard from some locals that there was a place not to far from town that served some kind of amazing fruit drink. I figured I would give it a shot before I took off."_

_Nero raised the glass to his mouth a took a sip._

_"Guess they were right."_

_He set the glass down to the table and quickly added, "But I have to ask, what kind of things could be of any use to a treasure hunter or anthropologist way out here?"_

_The bartender began to prepare another drink for the customer a few seats away and gestured to the window, "See that?"_

_Nero turned his attention back to the window and cocked his head, all he saw was the desert that stretched on for what seemed like eternity, "Am I supposed to be seeing something else than a shit ton of sand?"_

_"No, but legend has it that somewhere out in the Si Wong Desert there is a place called Wan Shi Tong's library. Every day I see professors and goons come here to head out into the desert in search of it."_

_Nero nodded as he took the last sip of his drink. He was getting board and was just about to leave as he said, "Seems like a whole lot of fuss over just some books."_

_"Just some books!?" Scoffed the other man at the table, "Wan Shi Tong's library happens to be the greatest collection of knowledge in the entire world! Not even assembled by man, but by the all knowing spirit Wan Shi Tong! Legend has it that its shelves contain every piece of knowledge in the world, and th-"_

_Nero cut the man's rambling off with a stern tone, "If this place even does exist, do you think it might have information on demons?"_

_Both the man and the bartender raised an eyebrow at the odd remark, the man spoke first, "I couldn't tell you for sure, but if a compilation of such knowledge existed, Wan Shi Tong's library would be an excellent place to start... if only I could find it."_

_Nero turned back to the bartender, paid what he owed, and turned back to the man, "Well thanks... uh." he paused._

_"Professor Zei, head Anthropology Department at Ba Sing Se University."_

_"Uh... yeah, right, thanks."_

_The bartender reached behind the table and grabbed Nero's blade that he was forced to turn over upon entering the establishment. Seeing that the he was struggling to lift it with both hands, Nero quickly grabbed it and returned it to his back, mysteriously staying despite not having a sheath, then headed out the door._

* * *

"Fuck!" Nero exclaimed as he was pulled out his memory, after tripping over a stone hidden beneath the sand. He groaned as he pulled himself up and dusted off his attire. Some sand had gotten under the bandages he wore on his right arm, that combined with the heat, it was really starting to bug him.

"Well, its not like there is anybody here to see me." he muttered as he started to unwrap his arm, revealing an odd blue appendage. While mimicking the form of a normal arm, its red exterior combined with the blue light that radiated from cracks in the skin, a long strip up the back, and his fingers would say otherwise. Still holding the bandages, he folded them up and placed them in his coat pocket along with the canteen.

He had only taken a few more steps before deciding that this wasn't worth his time, and as he went to turn back the way he came, something caught his eye.

"Could that...?" he thought, walking up the dune.

What he came to find was what appeared to be a large, ornate tower jutting from the sand up about fifty feet into the air. He ran his eyes down the tower to see a group of four young kids and some large unidentifiable white furred animal. He analyzed the group and guess them to be around twelve to sixteen, it was hard to tell from this far away. Coming around from other side of the large animal was a older man, it took him a second to make the connection.

"Hey its that professor... Zei, yeah that sounds right. I guess he found what he was looking for, but how the hell did he get out here before me? I've been out here for at least 2 hours."

Nero was frustrated and confused, but if this turned out to be the library, then maybe his journey was not to be in vain. As much as he didn't want to get involved in whatever these kids were up to, he really didn't feel like trekking all the way back through the desert. He began to descend the dune towards the tower then quickly remembered that his right arm was still exposed. Slowing his pace, he took the bandaging out of his pocket and wrapped it carefully around his arm, assuring that none of it was to be seen. It wasn't more that just a few steps before he heard one of the group members yell out.

"Hey! There's someone coming over there!" a small girl clad in what Nero recognized as basic green Earth Kingdom attire. He was confused as to how she knew he was headed towards them without even looking, but before he could ponder the thought for to long, the other members of the group took a fighting stance. Nero held up his left hand, showing he had no intentions of harming them as he drew closer. They lowered there weapons and murmured among themselves, seemingly confused at the arrival of this strange white haired teen.

Though one of the groups members did not back down. A boy with short black hair tied up in a ponytail wearing blue cloths came at him with a boomerang and demanded, "Hey, who are you and why did you follow us?"

This gained Nero a quizzical look as he retorted, "Uh... I haven't been following you, I ju-"

He was cut off by the boy, "So then why are you here? You don't look like a sand bender." The question came with another step forward as the boy raised his arm, preparing to throw his weapon.

Nero rapidly was getting annoyed, he knew that if this escalated to a fight, whoever these kids were they probably didn't stand a chance. Moments away from drawing his sword, Zei came from behind the boy and rested his hand on his arm, lowering his weapon.

"Sokka there is no need to attack this man, as it turns out, I just met him." the professor said, motioning for Nero to come join them.

"Well I certainly didn't expect to see you out here." Nero said with a smirk, now returning his attention to the tower that stood in front of them.

"I can certainly say the same for you my friend. A while after you had gone off into the desert, I ran into the Avatar himself and some of his friends. They also had reason to find Wan Shi Tong's library, and offered to let me join them in search." Zei began to motion to the large creature Nero had spotted from below and said, "Of course, that was made a lot easier with the help of their sky bison." The creature let out a bellow at it's mention, making Zei jump a little.

Nero raised an eyebrow, this day was getting stranger and stranger. Now turning his attention to the group, "Well I guess Ill start, I'm Nero."

There was silence for a moment before a boy with a tattoo of an arrow on a clean shaven head stepped forward and said, "Nice to meet you Nero, I'm Aang." and before stepping back he quickly added, "The Avatar."

The boy who had threatened him before had softened at tad now, "Sokka"

The smaller girl who had spotted him initially stepped forward, "Toph. Toph Beifong" Nero recognized the name, and wondered what a young girl of the Beifong family could be doing out here.

Finally, an older girl dressed in similar cloths as Sokka stepped up and said, "I'm Katara, nice to meet you."

Nero had a smile on the edges of his lips. He was glad things went over well with these strangers, now he didn't have to walk all the way back.

"So fill me in Zei," Nero said pointing at the tower, "What do we know about this thing?"

Zei grinned, "Well, just before you arrived, our friend Toph just discovered that this place is indeed the library, and while most of it appears to be submerged in the sand, the interior seems unscathed."

"Good to hear, so how do you propose we get in?" Nero questioned.

There was silence among them, as they all looked at the entrance to the tower, which happened to be near the top.

Sokka's eyes lit up as he snapped his fingers, "I know!" He began to tie a rope to the end of his boomerang, and threw it over the ledge, securing the rope.

They began to go up the rope, but before Nero could grab it, Aang put his hand out in front of him.

"Look," the boy said with sternness, "I don't know anything about you besides that your name is Nero and the professor seems to think your alright. Before we go in, I just have to know, what are your reasons for wanting to find this place?"

Nero was taken aback by Aang straightforwardness, and decided that if there was anyone that it wasn't worth lying to, it was the Avatar. Besides, what could he possibly gather from what he was about to say?

"I'm looking for some information surrounding demons, does that satisfy you?"

Aang didn't know how to respond. Nero could see the gears in his head turning, but his thoughts were broken by Sokka yelling from the top of the tower, "Hey are you guys coming or what?"

"Sure thing Sokka." Aang replied hastily as he turned back to Nero, "Uh... I guess you can come, just don't wander off where we can't see you okay?"

Nero nodded in agreement, then followed Aang up the rope.


	2. Chapter 2: Knowledge Is Priceless

**Hello all, back again for chapter two I see? Well thanks, it means a lot. So yeah, this chapter is a little boring, but picks up near the end. That's about it. Enjoy.**

* * *

Nero's boots landed with a soft thud, as Aang helped him over the ledge and into the tower. Sokka untied the rope and began to fashion a way for them to drop down into the ancient library. While Sokka secured the rope, Aang glanced over at Nero, and before turning his attention back to his friend, he took a double take and stared at Nero's arm.

"Hey, if your arm is broken, then how were you able to climb up the rope?" Aang questioned. All eyes were on Nero now as he scrambled for a quick excuse.

"Oh... well you see... it's not broken... I uh... I travel a lot, and I ran into a few bandits on the road that happened to be fire benders, I got out okay, I just picked up a nasty burn in the process."

That seemed to ease the tension in the group, but Nero could tell that they were even more skeptical than when they had first met him. Nero thought it would be best to change the subject.

"So how come your friend Toph isn't coming with us?"

Katara answered, "She's blind, so a library isn't going to do much for her. Also we need someone to stay outside and keep an eye on Appa."

Nero returned in a confused voice, "What? Then how di-"

Aang jumped in to explain, "She can still see, just not the way you and I do. Shes an earth bender, and she can feel the vibrations of the earth through her feet in order to see. Its really incredible."

Nero was amazed at the concept, but his thoughts were interrupted by Sokka.

"Alright, the rope seems secure. It looks like we can just repel down this wall and down to the crosswalk below."

Zei, fuming with anticipation, ran over to the rope and was the first to slide down. The rest followed.

"Oh this is breathtaking!" remarked the professor, "The spirits spared no expense in designing this place. Look at those beautiful buttresses."

Aang and Sokka giggled at the comment, while Katara and Nero just rolled there eyes at their immaturity.

"What's funny?" Zei innocently asked.

"Nothing" Aang replied, "We just like architecture."

"As do I" the professor gleamed, looking at the room they now stood in.

Nero was one of the last down the rope, and while descending the last ten feet, a blur of white flew past his head, making him almost lose his grip.

"What the hell is that thing?" Nero asked, planting his feet on the ground.

The blur of white had turned out to be what appeared to be some sort of small white creature with large ears, now perched on Aang's shoulder.

"Oh, I guess I forgot to introduce you to a member of our group. This is Momo." Aang smiled as he patted the creature on the head.

Before Nero could comment, Zei pushed passed them and gasped:

"My word! The exquisite work of this tile!"

Nero tuned out the man's babbling and examined his surroundings. They stood on a crosswalk above a giant chasm. Each walkway lead to a different room with books are far as he could see. Nero had a good feeling about this place. At least one of these books had to have what he was looking for.

Nero's smile quickly faded, as his right arm began to glow from underneath his bandages. He began to glance around frantically, the presence of another supernatural being could be sensed. It was coming closer.

"Hey! Everybody! Get over here now!" Nero shouted as he ran behind one of the pillars and the end of the walkway.

The gang looked among each other, unsure to listen to the teens demands.

Nero was getting anxious, his arm began to glow more and more.

"Something is coming!" he shouted, "Quick! Hide!"

Aang and his friends began to walk over to where Nero was hiding, when the sound of what seemed to be giant footsteps echoed throughout the chamber. Now adhering to his warning, the gang speed up and hid behind the pillars with him.

What came walking slowly out of one of the rows of books could only be described as a giant owl, resembling the one in the tile pattern above the archway into the corridor. It looked around, took one look at the rope still hanging from the ceiling, and spoke in a deep voice, "I know you're back there."

There was no place to run, they all gave each other weary glances. Zei gulped and nervously came out from behind the pillar.

"Hello! I'm professor Zei, head of Anthropology Department at Ba Sing Se University." said in a loud tone as he approached the figure. There was a pause before the being spoke again.

"You should leave the way you came," the owl said, looking towards a collection of animal heads mounted on the wall, "unless you want to become a stuffed head of anthropology."

A bead of sweat trickled down Zei's face as he tugged at his collar.

"Are you the spirit that brought this library to the physical world?" Sokka questioned boldly. Nero was impressed by the boy's bravery. He and the others followed him.

"Indeed, I am Wan Shi Tong, he who knows ten thousand things." the spirit announced himself, "And you are obviously humans, which by the way are no longer permitted in my study."

Aang furrowed his brow and frowned, "What do you have against humans?"

The spirit scoffed, "Humans only bother learning things to get the edge on other humans. Like that fire bender that came to this place a few years ago, looking to destroy his enemy." He leaned down so that he was face to face with Sokka, "So, who are you trying to destroy?"

"What?" quivered a nervous Sokka, "No, no destroying, we're not into that!"

"Then why have you come here?"

"Um... knowledge for knowledge's sake?"

Nero put his hand into his head and clasped the bridge between his eyes. While brave, the boy was a horrible lair.

"If you are going to lie to an all knowing spirit being, you should at least put some effort into it."

"I'm not lying! I'm here with the Avatar, he's the bridge between our worlds he'll vouch for me." Sokka retorted as he pushed Aang in front of him.

"Ow!" Aang muttered as he shot his friend a sour look, "Uh... yeah... I'll vouch. We will not abuse the knowledge in your library good spirit. You have my word."

The Avatar bowed before the spirit and the rest of the group followed suit.

"Hm... very well." Won Shi Tong concluded, "I'll let you peruse my vast collection, on one condition. To prove your worth as scholars, you have to contribute some worthwhile knowledge."

This gained some worried looks from everyone except for Zei, who stepped up and presented a book to the spirit.

"Please accept this tome, as a donation to your library."

Won Shi Tong raised an eyebrow, "First edition, very nice." He swept his left wing over the book and it vanished.

Katara stepped up next, "I have an authentic water bending scroll."

The spirit gazed at the unraveled scroll and remarked, "Oh, these illustrations are very stylish." He took the scroll.

Aang stalled as the group looked at him, "Uh... I know!" as he pulled what appeared to be a Fire Nation wanted poster of himself out of his shirt.

"I suppose that counts." the owl sighed as he took the Avatar's offering.

Sokka walked up with a bit of string in his hand and said, "Oh great spirit, check this out!" fiddling with the string until it was made into some sort of knot that resembled a butterfly. "Ta-da!"

Sokka grinned nervously, "It's a special knot, that counts as knowledge!"

There was a pause, "You're not very bright, are you?" the spirit commented. Nero couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

Sokka's expression turned angry as his knot was taken.

Finally, Nero stood before the owl, fished in his coat pocket for a bit, then presented an extremely detailed drawing of the ornate weapon suspended on his back. The handmade schematic broke down every piece of the custom made blade.

"It's basically the design I followed when I put together the Red Queen here." nodding towards his back where the sword hung, "Entirely original design."

Wan Shi Tong admired the complexity of the work, and wordlessly took the white haired teens donation.

"Enjoy the library." spoke the owl, before soaring into the chasm below.

Sokka glared down the chasm and mumbled, "Not very bright? Bright enough to fool you."

* * *

They had been searching for hours. Aang and Katara browsed through sections on Avatar history, while Sokka was poking around, putting books into his satchel, and looking for a map. Nero was a couple rows away from Aang, staying within his eyesight as he promised, scouring for the information he desired.

"You gotta be kidding me." Nero thought to himself, "All these books, and not a single one on demons." He paced back and forth, quickly getting annoyed with the fact his effort yielded no results.

"Hell, I was getting my hopes up anyways," he looked down at his right arm, "Even if I was able to find a book about demons, the odds of it helping me get rid of this thing are slim to none." Nero took in the gravity of the situation, slowly coming to realize that the demonic appendage was probably a burden he had to bear for the rest of his life. With a heavy sigh, he decided he had spent enough time with his face buried in books for one day, he wasn't much of a reader. He put the book he was holding back onto the shelve and walked over to Aang.

Nero went to start the conversation, but Aang spoke first, "So did you find what you were looking for?"

"I came over to ask you the same thing..." he trailed off, knowing Aang wouldn't let him dodge the question, "Uh... no, nothing I was looking for."

"Well sorry you had to come all this way through the desert for nothing... Anyways I think it's about time we checked on Sokka"

Aang stood up and Katara and Nero followed him down to a room around the corner to find Sokka prying at a glass case with his sword.

"Hey!" Katara snapped, "You shouldn't be trying to take things that aren't yours!"

Sokka scowled and glanced behind him, "Hey its for a good cause, besides, I'm only borrowing it. Hey Nero, you look pretty strong, help me get this open."

Nero shrugged and made his way over to the left side of the case.

"Alright, on the count of three." he commanded. "One, two, three!"

Sokka strained to lift the case with all of his might, managing to pop one of the sides out of place. Over on the other side, Nero had easily lifted it with his one good hand.

"Alright, now Katara."

Katara reached under the case and pulled out a piece of parchment. Examining it carefully, she read aloud, "The darkest day in Fire Nation history, it's got a date at the top."

Sokka walked over and snatched the parchment out of her hands, "Yeah, seems promising right? The section on Fire Nation history is right over there... Hey has anybody seen Zei?"

"I'm back here, just one moment." the professor replied, coming out from behind a bookshelves with a large stack of scrolls and books."

"Come on, this way."

The group followed him through the rows of bookshelves to a large archway with the Fire nation insignia hanging over it. To their dismay, walking through the doorway revealed that all of the information that once held it's place in this library was turned into nothing more than a pile of burnt shelves and ash.

"Fire Benders!" exclaimed Aang.

"That's so unfair!" Sokka yelled, bringing his hands to his face, "Just when I think I'm one step ahead of the Fire Nation, it turns out they beat us here a long time ago. I need to know what happened on the darkest day."

As if on cue, a small whimper echoed behind them. Turning around, to see a small little fox like creature standing on its hind legs. Nero took a couple of steps back, animals didn't usually take to kindly to him.

"Hello, little weird fox guy." Sokka said softly.

The fox then immediately turned around, and lifted its paw in the direction which they came.

"It seems its trying to assist you." Zei observed.

"Um... sure, I guess Ill follow you."

They took off in pursuit of the creature, across catwalks and through the maze of shelves. Finally, the path ended when they met with a large, round golden door. The fox scurried into an open hole in the wall, and seconds later, the door slid open. They stepping inside the room. The top was rounded like a dome and in the center was a dial with a lever near by. The fox from before came out from a hole on this side of the wall, trotted up to the lever and pushed it forward with its two front paws.

The machine was sent into action, as pictures of constellations lit up the room and spun overhead.

"The room is a true marvel, a mechanical wonder!" exclaimed Zei as he removed his hat and began to makes notes in his journal, "It's a planetarium that shows the heavens moving!"

"This is beautiful, but how is it helpful?" Sokka questioned.

"Maybe these dials represent dates and times, Sokka, try putting that date from the parchment you took."

"Shush! Katara! Not in front of the fox, he's with the owl."

The creature lowered its ears and let out a small whine.

After the dials had been aligned, he pulled the lever and watched the machine go to work. The time shifted to day and the picture of the Sun rose into the sky, but the Moon rose to match it.

"Great, you must have broken it" Aang said with a frown.

"No its not broken..." his voice trailed off, "The Sun is behind the Moon, its a solar eclipse!"

Nero could see him connecting the dots in his head, eyes gleaming he continued, "It's literally the darkest day in Fire Nation history, now I get it! Something awful happened on that day, I don't know what but I do know why, fire benders loose there bending during a solar eclipse!"

Sokka went on with his discovery and what they planned to do with the information, but Nero couldn't focus. It was faint, but recognizable. The feeling grew stronger and stronger, and before Nero could call out to the rest of the group, a shadow loomed over Sokka.

"Mortals are so predictable." a familiar voice spoke, "And such terrible liars."

Wan Shi Tong, blocking the door way, leaned down to human eye level, "You betrayed my trust, from the start your intentions were to use this knowledge for evil purposes!"

Sokka stuck by his argument, "Hey if there is anyone that's evil its the Fire Nation. You saw what they did you your library, they're destructive and dangerous. We need this information!"

"You think your the first to believe their war was justified? Countless others before have come here seeking weapons, weaknesses, or battle strategies."

"We had no choice," Aang stepped in, "please, we were only trying to protect the people we love."

"And now, I am going to protect what I love." The spirit said in a somber tone, and began to flap his wings with such might, that sand began to seep in from the cracks in the ceiling. One last desperate attempt to assure that his knowledge was not to be abused ever again.

"Oh no you don't." Nero thought, drawing his sword from his back, twisting its handle to infuse the flammable propellant in each strike he made.

Jumping a solid ten feet in the air, Nero was eye to eye with Wan Shi Tong, and let out a quick set of three strikes while airborne, sending the spirit into a fit of rage as it stumbled back. Upon landing Nero charged his opponent while he was down, jump for a second time, and brought his blade crashing down onto the owls chest. Screeching and kicking, Nero thought to himself that this would buy them enough time to escape.

"That should hold him off, come on lets go before we end up buried." Nero said walking out the doorway, waving his hand for them to follow him.

Everyone in the group was astonished at Nero's display, but this wasn't the time for questions. They ran after Nero as he made his way down the hall. Upon turning around, it came to his surprise that Sokka lingered behind.

"What the hell are you doing Sokka come on it's time to go!" Nero yelled.

"Wait, we still don't know when the next eclipse is going to happen."

"Don't be stupid Sokka," Katara said, "we'll find out later."

"No we won't, if we leave this place now we'll never get the information. Aang come with me I'll need some cover. Katara, you take Momo and leave with Nero and Zei."

"Okay, just hurry." Katara replied with concern in her voice.

Just after they parted ways, Wan Shi Tong came flying after Katara and Nero. Zei had fled into a nearby row of books, and the other two just kept running. The spirit chased them to the main room where they had made there entry as Katara took fighting stance.

"Your water bending will do you no good here child, I have studied Southern style, Northern style, and eve-"

The owl was cut short by something that Katara could not describe. What appeared to be a giant ghostly blue arm with a red fist came crashing into the spirits face, sending him flying back through his own collection of books. Katara was frozen in fear for a moment, but managed to work up the strength to turn around. What she came to find was Nero, bent over and panting, right arm exposed for what it truly was. Katara put her hand over her mouth, and stared at him.

"Katara, come on we got to go" Nero said between heavy breaths. She stood motionless.

Her trance was broken when she heard a familiar voice from behind:

"Katara what are you still doing here we have to go now." cried Sokka as he ran past her and grabbed the rope. She quickly realized the danger she was in, and before giving one last glace to Nero, began to climb the rope. Aang was flying up with his glider besides them. Nero followed suit.

Sokka was about half way up the rope when he spotted Zei in one of the rows of books, "Professor! Up here, come on it's time to leave!"

Zei looked up from his text, "I'm not leaving. I can't. I've spent to long trying to find this place. There isn't another collection of knowledge like this on Earth." There was a pause, "I could spend eternity in here."

Katara stared at the man for a moment, coming to terms with the mans odd decision, before shouting, "Just go!"

Finally, they made it to the top. Coming out of the window they entered from one by one. The first thing Nero noticed is that the tower was a lot shorter than they first entered.

"Good," he thought, "made it out just in time."

Sokka was congratulating himself on a job well done, as Aang looked around with a worried expression and asked, "Toph, where's Appa?

Tears filled the young Avatar's eyes as the only response she could give him was the slow shaking of her head.

"No..."


	3. Chapter 3: Sand (Part 1)

**Hello all, time for chapter 3. For anybody that might actually be taking interest in this story, I think chapter 4 might be uploaded today, if not early tomorrow, getting a good head start on it now. So this chapter still isn't all that exiting, though I am beginning to draw the character of Nero out a bit, giving him some personality and slowly working him into the group. Thanks and enjoy!**

* * *

The winds started to pick up, as Nero raised his now exposed right arm to cover his face. He felt uneasy, as soon as Aang was done yelling at Toph, he knew they were going to confront him.

"How could you let them take Appa? Why didn't you stop them?" Aang chastised the blind warrior, looking around the desert frantically in every direction, hoping to catch some glimpse of his bison.

"I couldn't!" Toph defended herself, "The library was sinking you guys were still inside and-"

Aang wasn't having any of it, "You could have came inside to get us, I could have saved him!"

"I can hardly feel any vibrations out here, the sand benders snuck up on me and there wasn't time for-"

"You just didn't care!" Aang lunged at her, "You never liked Appa you wanted him gone!"

Katara approached the enraged kid, put her hand on his shoulder and spoke softly, "Aang, stop it. You know Toph did all she could. She saved our lives."

"Who's going to save our lives now?" her brother interjected, "We're never going to make it out of here."

Aang began to pace away from the group, "That's all any of you guys care about, yourselves. You don't care whether Appa is okay or not."

"We are all concerned, but we can't afford to be fighting now." Katara began, as she walked after him.

Without skipping a beat, Aang said sternly, "I'm going after Appa." He leaped into the air and began to fly away from his group with his glider.

"Hey kid, wait up!" Nero shouted after him. Knowing that Aang was the only one in the group that could fly, Nero figured he was there best chance of survival. But it didn't matter, the Avatar kept on flying.

Katara hung her head in despair, "We better start walking, we're the only ones that know about the solar eclipse. We have to get that information to Ba Sing Se." She turned to Nero and glared at his arm, "And I think its time you explained that "burn" of yours."

Nero looked at the ground, he didn't have any other option besides sticking with them. They all began to walk side by side, as Nero began his story.

"Well, actually, I honestly don't know to much about it, but from all the years I've been stuck with it, I've learned a couple things."

Sokka stared at his arm with intrigue, fascinated by the odd light that emanated from the teens appendage. He still kept on his guard though, Nero had only prove himself to be less and less trustworthy over the short time he had known him. Though strangely, Sokka didn't see him as a threat. The fact that he helped them ward off Wan Shi Tong in order to make it out of the library with their lives made him put a little trust in the white haired boy.

"I know for starts, that it gets its power off of something supernatural, my best guess so far is demonic energy."

This gained some questioning looks from the group. How could he make such a strange statement and sound so sure about it?

"Uh... I might be able to go a little more in depth on that theory if I ever run into you guys outside of a desert." Nero continued:

" Well whatever it is, I'm not sure if it gives me power, or if it gets its power from me. Either way, the thing has got some crazy effects. I mean, first of all I have natural white hair. I've traveled a hell of a lot, and from what I can tell, white hair isn't exactly a normal thing."

The group nodded in agreement, "Second of all, I'm strong, like... uh, well, really strong. You saw back in the library how easily I was able to help Sokka pry the glass case open, and how high I was able to jump to attack that owl thing..." Nero trailed off as he blushed slightly, he wasn't one to go around gloating about how strong he was.

"And lastly, I heal really fast. Gashes, burns, you name it, and it will be as good as new within a couple minutes."

The wind died down a bit, as Katara mentioned, "So what was that thing that you used to attack Wan Shi Tong back at the library? It looked a lot like your arm."

Nero thought of a way to put his explanation into words, and after a bit of thinking, he thought it would be best to have a bit of a demonstration.

"Here, let me just show you." Nero looked around for a second, "You see that cactus over there?" he said, pointing to a cactus about fifteen feet to their right.

They nodded as Nero took stance, raised his hand, trusted it forward and made a grabbing motion. Out came what looked to be a larger, spectral image of the Nero's arm, as it grabbed the cactus and quickly pulled it towards him.

"What happened?" asked a confused Toph, "From what I could tell, that cactus just flew at us. Is that your big secret, are you a cactus bender?"

Sokka went on to explain it to his blind friend as best he could as he walked over the the remains of the cactus on the ground, "So just imagine an arm, a big blue transparent one with a red hand that can extend to grab things."

Toph scratched her head and tried to imagine the thing based off Sokka's weird description. It's not like "red" or "blue" had any meaning to her anyways.

Nero smiled, "Yeah, that sounds about right Sokk- Hey!"

Sokka stood there sipping the water out of one of the cactus's bulbs that was on the ground.

"No damn way is that stuff safe to drink. Katara, keep better eye on your brother next time." Nero crossed his arms.

"Is it that obvious that we are related?" Katara said, shaking her head.

"Suit yourself, its very thirst quenching." He remarked as Momo began to drink some of the plants innards off the ground. Sokka stood there smiling, just before his eyes widened profusely.

"Drink cactus juice, it will quench ya, nothing quenchier, its the quenchiest!"

"Okay I think you've had enough." Katara glared as she took the cactus out of his hand. Momo flew in circles above their heads.

"Can I get some of that cactus?" Toph asked innocently, Katara put her hand around her shoulder as they resumed there walk, "I don't think that would be a good idea. Come on, we need to find Aang."

* * *

They had been walking for a while in silence, aside from Sokka's rambling, as the dusk began to set on the desert. The Sun's reflection off the sand pained the desert a beautiful shade of orange. Nero took himself out of the situation he was stuck in for a moment to appreciate the landscape, peering off into the endless sea of sand. The slight grin on his face quickly faded as he heard a loud boom come from behind him. He whirled around quickly and drew his blade on instinct.

"Its okay Nero." Sokka said drearily, "Its only a giant mushroom... Maybe it's friendly!"

Sokka began to ramble about his new friend, as the rest of the group looked over to the giant mushroom cloud that hung on the horizon.

"That's gotta be Aang." Katara said, "We should probably head towards it."

"Uh... I don't think that's going to be necessary." Nero pointed to the sky towards Aang that was flying back to their company.

Katara walked up behind the slumped over Avatar, putting her hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry Aang, I know its hard for you right now, but we need to focus on getting out of here."

"Whats the difference? We won't survive without Appa, we all know it."

"Come on Aang, we can do this if we work together, right Toph?"

The earth bender kicked the sand, "As far as I can feel, we are trapped in a giant bowl of sand pudding. I got nothing."

Katara redirected her question, "Sokka? Any ideas on how to find Ba Sing Se?"

"Why don't we ask the circle birds?" Sokka motioned in a circle towards the sky.

Nero looked up, and to his surprise, they weren't just a cactus juice apparition. A pack of four, giant, flying creatures that resembled bees, flew around them overhead. They didn't seem like an immediate threat. Ignoring them, he turned his attention back to Katara, looking around for a shed of hope among the group.

Lastly, she looked at Nero, "What do you think we should do?"

He sighed, "I was able to walk into this desert, so escaping on foot isn't completely out of the question. And don't forget, this place is crawling with sand bender. If we run into some, I'm sure we could take 'em and steal there sand boat."

Katara smiled at his positive attitude, "See Aang, we can do this, I know we can... we have to." She picked her brother up by his hand and they resumed there voyage.

* * *

The sun was just now showing its last rays of light, disappearing behind the dunes. Katara examined the sky and said, "I think we should stop for the night." She heard a collective sigh and thuds behind her as her companions fell to the ground in exhaustion. Giving them all portions of the last of the water she had with her, they decided to wait out the night.

Toph, Sokka, and Katara lay on the ground a bit away from Aang, who was still visibly upset. Nero decided Aang must still have been curious about his arm, and he wanted to get the explanation out of the way, the sooner the better. He was a little surprised Aang had rejoined them for that amount of time and not said a word about it. Then again, he didn't say much of anything. He rubbed his boot on the sand in a sweeping motion, clearing a small patch of sand for him to lay down on next to the Avatar. Aang looked at him with the expression that had been on his face since they left the library, quickly refocusing his gaze on the night sky. Nero decided to join him.

"So..." said Nero, unsure on how to start the conversation, "As much as I know your pissed about your bison and all... you gotta admit, the desert has a hell of a view."

Aang didn't respond. Nero decided to get to the point.

"So while you were gone, I gave the group a little explanation of my arm here, I thought mayb-"

Aang, still fixed on the night sky, "I don't even care anymore. All I want to do is find Appa."

Nero understood, and was a little relieved he didn't have to explain the whole thing over again for the time being, he was exhausted.

"Hey, I know what your feeling kid, we have all had to part ways with someone we care about at one time or another."

"Well, its a little different when that someone you care about is your best friend, and gets kidnapped."

Nero could sense the anger in the boys voice rising, "Alright, alright. I'll shut up. Look, all I know is that no matter how pissed you are right now, just try to keep a little contained you know? By the looks of it, your going to be stuck out here with us for a while, and we are all trying our hardest to figure a way out of this mess. Hey your an Air Nomad right? Just uh... meditate... or whatever."

Aang was getting angry at Nero's insensitivity, turned away, now laying on his side, "Yeah, Ill just meditate or whatever."

Nero frowned, a little irritated he wasn't getting through to him. He meant well, he just didn't really have a way with words like Katara did. Giving up, he rested his white hair against the sand and went to sleep.

* * *

A couple hours later, he was woken up by Katara shaking his shoulder, "Come on Nero get up." He yawned and wiped his eyes. It was still dark, Katara had found a star constellation map in the bag of things Sokka had taken from the library, using it to guide them. They had only taken a couple steps before Aang made a double take at the moon.

"Appa!" he exclaimed, pointing to a faint figure in the sky, but as it became illuminated by the moonlight, the realization hit him. The gleam in his eye faded as Katara pointed out:

"Its just a cloud... wait, a cloud!" she said with excitement as she handed Aang the sack slung over her back, "Here, fly up and bend the water from that cloud into my pouch."

Aang wordlessly grabbed it out of her hands with a scowl, opened his glider and took off to the sky. He made a couple of quick passes through the cloud and returned to them.

"Wow, there is hardly any in here." Katara peered into the pouch.

"I'm sorry okay!" Aang lashed back at her, "It's a desert cloud I did all I could! What's anyone else doing?" Pointing his staff at her, "What are you doing?"

There was a pause, she let out a sigh and closed her eyes, "Trying to keep everyone together. Let's just get moving." Looking at constellation map she added, "We need to head this direction." They followed. It wasn't long before the group heard a thump come from behind them as Toph landed in the sand.

"Ow!" she yelped, as the group went back to help her up, "I am so sick of not feeling where I'm going! And what idiot buried a boat in the middle of the desert?"

"A boat?" Katara asked, examining the object protruding from the sand.

"Believe me, I kicked it hard enough to feel plenty of vibrations." Toph said as she rubbed her foot.

Aang walked up to the object, and glanced at Katara. She took a couple of steps back before Aang threw down a blast of air, revealing a sand bender's glider. Nero was the first to hop on the vehicle:

"Hey, check this out. Looks like its got some sort of compass. With any luck, this should point us the way out."

Aang examined the sail pitched between the main body of the boat, "Looks like the sail is still intact, I can bend a breeze to push us along."

Kataras face lit up, "We're gonna make it, I knew we would!"

Nero hopped down as he helped Katara drag a cactus juice crazed Sokka onto the boat. He could respect how much optimism Katara always brought to the table. No matter how bad things seemed, she was able to keep the group alive with hope, even when the other members didn't have any. Nero gave Aang a thumbs up after Sokka was on board, and the Avatar pushed the sand glider into motion.


	4. Chapter 4: Sand (Part 2)

**Okay, back again. So things start to pick up in this chapter, so that's cool I guess. I see this story is actually getting a view or two, so thanks to anyone that took the time to read my ramblings, glad I could amuse you. Thanks and enjoy!**

* * *

The sound of roaring wind filled Nero's ears as they sailed smoothly across the blanket of sand. The cool night's air felt really refreshing. He took a deep breath and smiled. Any worries in his mind about being stranded in the desert were gone with this luck find of the sand glider. Katara leaned over the compass near the front of the boat, a quizzical look branded on her face as she compared it to her maps.

"The needle on this compass doesn't seem to be point North according to my charts..." she let her words hang as she checked the constellation map again. Nero stopped her deducing he pointed ahead,

"Hey I think that's what your compass might be point to."

Katara looked up to see a large rock formation unavailing itself from behind a dune, realization struck her:

"Hey your right, it must be the magnetic center of the desert."

Toph's face lit up, "A rock? Yes! Let go."

"Maybe we can find some water." Katara added.

"Maybe we can find some sand benders." Aang muttered under his breath, throwing another gust of wind into the sail of the glider.

As they approached the rock, light began to bleed over the horizon as the cool of the night turned to a pleasant temperature. Of course, they knew it wouldn't be long before the sweltering heat came back, but the group enjoyed it while they could as they came to a stop. They made their climb up the large rock, and quickly reached the top. Sokka began to survey the land from their new vantage point, as Aang walked over to one of the many holes cut into a wall at the top. Toph simply enjoyed the fact that she was on solid ground again. Nero had never seen someone so happy to find a rock.

"What do you think is in this cave?" Nero asked, walking up next to Aang.

"I don't know, but there's only one way to find out." They followed him into the oddly shaped cave.

Sokka exhaled sharply, "Phew, I think my head is starting to clear out that cactus juice." He turned to see the walls covered in what looked to be a glob of honey, "And look!" he exclaimed as he took a mouthful of the substance. His curiosity had gotten the best of him again, as he spit out the fowl goo. "Bleh! It tastes like rotten penguin meat, oh I feel woozy."

Katara rolled her eyes at brother, and before she could reprimand him, Nero spoke up:

"Hey, is it just me, or does the shape of this cave seem a little off to you?"

Toph pressed her hand against the wall, "Yeah, its seems like it was carved out."

She took a pause, eyes widening, "There's something buzzing in here, something that's coming for us!"

Adhering to her warning, they all ran back the way they came. They met with daylight again and turned to see dozens of the odd bee like creatures that were circling above them before, now pouring out of the holes in the wall. Aang shot down as many as he could with air blasts, but there were too many. Toph couldn't fight against an airborne enemy, and Katara had no water left to bend. Sokka chased after a few and swung wildly to keep them at bay, but they just circled around for another attack. Nero stood back, as he thought:

"Well I guess this is up to me then."

Nero readied his right arm and went into combat. He let out a yell as he grabbed one of the creatures with the ghostly arm, flinging it into two of the other creatures before smashing it into the ground. Throwing them one by one, he quickly realized this method was going to take to long. He twisted the handle on the hilt of the Red Queen, as it emitted a red glow. He jumped straight up, and flew seemingly b-line through the air into a group of the bees, spinning in a flaming wind-whirl that took down the cluster.

"Look out Sokka!" Nero warned, as one of the giant bees was about to implant its stinger into Sokka's back.

Nero reacted quickly, grabbed the monstrous bug from afar, and once he had reeled it in, began to execute graceful, sweeping, circular movements with his blade, ripping Sokka's attacker apart. He looked around to see a job well done, and placed his sword on his back.

"Momo!" Aang screamed, as one last bug swooped down and grabbed the flying lemur, "I'm not loosing anyone else out here." he said as he took glider in hand.

Nero came up behind and put his hand on his arm, lowering it, "Hold on Aang, I got this."

He took a deep breath, curled his right arm in front of his face as the demonic arm began to crackle with blue energy. The light faded to reveal a katana in his right hand, seemingly materialized out of nowhere. The katana had a simple silver blade, and an ornate bronze guard. Nero drew a line in the air with his human hand, measuring the angle of the swing he was about to take. He took a step back, charging the sword with some blue glowing energy, and swung. This swing was not like any from a normal sword though, instead of stopping at the edge of the blades range, it carried through the air at breakneck speeds, hurtling towards the bee that had taken Aang friend. On collision with the monster, it exploded horizontally with incredible force. Nero exhaled slowly as the katana vanished into thin air as a soft blue pulse moved up his right arm. Momo had come out of the altercation unscathed, and began to turn around and fly back to his friend. Nero turned around slowly, wincing at the questions that were bound to be had. Sokka was the first to open his mouth,

"Okay, was that just the cactus juice, or did everyone see that?"

Questions were on the tip of everyone's tongues, when Toph put her hand to the earth.

"Sand benders, coming in from the South!"

Aang, fuming with anger jumped off the rock, gliding down to come face to face with those who took Appa.

The rest of the group was about to follow, when Sokka stopped Nero, "Okay one of these days, we aren't going to get interrupted when you do something like that."

"Like I said before, I'll be happy to give you my whole damn life story once we make it out of this place alive."

Now at the bottom of the rock with the others, Aang was pointing his staff at the sand benders, in a combat ready pose.

"What are you doing in our sand bender sailor?" A tall bearded man said to the Avatar, Nero assumed he was the leader, "By the looks of it, you stole it from the Hami Tribe."

"We found the sailor abandoned in the desert." Katara defended, gesturing towards Aang, "We're traveling with the Avatar. Out bison was stolen and we have to get to Ba Sing Se."

A younger sand bender stepped forward with a menacing scowl, "You dare accuse our people of theft while you ride in on a stolen sand sailor?"

"Quiet Ghashiun!" the elder sand bender barked, "No one accused our people of anything! If what they say is true, we must give them hospitality."

The younger backed down, "Sorry father."

Toph's eyes narrowed in on Ghashiun, and whispered to the group, "I recognize the son's voice, he's the one that stole Appa."

Katara turned to her, being careful of throwing out accusations, "Are you sure?"

"I never forget a voice."

"You stole Appa!" Aang yelled, marching towards the sand benders, staff in hand, "Where is he? What did you do to him?"

Ghashiun denied the charge, "They are lying, they're the thieves!"

Aang became even more furious, as he slammed a pillar of wind into one their sand sailors, destroying it entirely.

Now quivering with rage, Aang demanded, "Where is my bison? You tell me where he is now!" destroying another sailor.

Ghashiun's father turned to him, "What did you do?"

"I- It wasn't me."

"You said to put a muzzle on him." Toph pressed onward.

"You muzzled Appa?"

Aang had seen enough, his eyes began to glow white along with his tattoos. Throwing out another attack, he destroyed the last sand sailor.

Ghashiun was in total fear now, "I- I'm sorry! I didn't know it belonged to the Avatar!"

"Tell me where Appa is!" Aang spoke in what now sounded like many voices speaking at once.

"I- I traded him, to some merchants, he's probably in Ba Sing Se by now. They were gonna sell him there."

The Avatar only stood there, seething with anger.

"Please, we'll escort you out of the desert, we'll help however we can!"

Sokka had seen this before, grabbing Toph and guiding her to safety. A colossal sandstorm formed around the Avatar as he began to float slowly off the ground and into the air, gaze still locked on those of the sand benders. Nero turned to run, but stopped short:

"Katara, what are you doing? Get out of here the kid is about to blow!"

"Its okay, I know how to handle this."

Nero could hear the certainty in her words, backing off to where Sokka and Toph has taken shelter.

Katara walked up to Aang, and put her arm on his. He flashed her the look he had been giving the sand benders, but she didn't respond. Instead, she held a somber look, one that silently spoke, "I understand, its okay." Aang began to float back down, falling into Kataras embrace. Eyes still glowing white, and teeth still grit, tears began streaming down his cheeks, quickly whisked away by the ferocious winds around him. The wind stopped and the sand dispersed, still locked in Kataras arms. It was over.

* * *

A group of the sand benders had taken the gang to the outskirts of the desert on the remaining sand sailor to a small river oasis by the edge of a mountain path. Thanking them for there assistance, the group dismounted the vehicle as the sand benders took off to retrieve those who had to stay behind at the rock. It wasn't long before Aang found himself floating down the river lazily and Katara was doing cannon balls off the ridge above. Toph rested her feet in the water next to Sokka, who was hard at work over a map, deciding the route they were going to have to take in to Ba Sing Se without Appa.

"Come on Nero, we've been in the desert for days, this feels great!" Aang said as he came up from under the water. Nero grinned, it was about time he got a chance to relax. Taking off his boots, overcoat, and undershirt, he folded his cloths and set the Red Queen down next to them. He jumped in the river to join his friends.

"Ah... you know, you never really appreciate water until you go a couple days without it." Nero said in a jaunty tone, as he floated on his back down the river.

"Water bending bomb!" A voice shouted somewhere above him.

"Katara, why?" Nero mumbled as he winced.

Katara splashed into the water creating a bigger than average wave, dousing everyone.

"Sure, five thousand year old maps from the spirit library, just splash some water on em'." Sokka groaned.

"Sorry," Katara apologized as she bent the water out of the map.

"So did you figure out what route were going to take?" Asked Aang, climbing out of the water.

"Okay, we just got out of the desert, so we must be around here." Sokka stuck his finger on the map, "And we need to go to Ba Sing Se, which is here." he slid his finger up the map. "It looks like the only passage connecting the South to the North is this sliver of land called the Serpents Pass."

Toph crossed her arms, "Are you sure that's the best way to go?"

"It's the only way, I mean, its not like we have Appa to fly us there."

Katara glared at him and whispered, "Shush up about Appa, can't you at least try to be sensitive?"

Aang was still able to hear her comment, "Katara it's okay, I know I was upset about loosing Appa before, but I just want to focus on getting to Ba Sing Se and telling the Earth King about the solar eclipse."

"Oh, okay... well I'm glad your doing better." she said with a half smile, getting the impression that Aang wasn't entirely well, "So Nero, where do you think your going to be headed?"

"Well," he began, "I hadn't really given it to much thought, I mean, I usually don't. I just sorta travel from place to place, seeing what comes my way. My life up to this point has kinda just seemed a bit... uh... aimless... I guess." He paused and scratched the back of his head, "Ah to hell with it, Ill just ask, would you guys mind if I joined you?" Silence filled the air, Nero became a bit more serious, "Look I know from the start I haven't been entirely honest with you, you don't know much about me, and there a lot of questions you guys might have. I've never really been on board with the whole idea of "destiny", but come on, the odds of running into the Avatar and his friends in the middle of the desert..." his speech wore away, "You know what, I get how weird this sounds now, sorr-"

Aang cut off his apology, "Nero, I would be happy to let you join us."

His expression brightened, "Hey, thanks kid, it means a lot."

"Not so fast, I have to make sure my friends are okay with it first. Sokka?"

"Sure! In fact, I was just about to ask him if he wanted to tag along. It would be nice to have another swordsman around to talk... uh... swordy stuff with."

Nero smirked, as Aang asked, "Toph, how about you?"

"Eh, he seems alright. Besides, I've been the newest member of the group for long enough."

"Katara?"

Nero could see the gears turning in her head, she was cautious, but finally said, "Alright, I'd be happy to let anybody join that you think is right to do so, but one one condition. No more secrets, if your going to be a member of our group, I think we should know some more about you."

"I agree," said Aang, "Maybe if we set up camp tonight, you can give us your story then."

Nero nodded in agreement to the terms, "Yeah no problem." He felt odd inside, he couldn't explain it, after all these years of his life as a drifter, it was hard to quantify the idea of being part something as big as helping the Avatar in his quest. He smiled at this new feeling, that only now could he recognize as a sense of purpose.


	5. Chapter 5: En Route

**Chapter 5... had really fun time writing this chapter, some cool interactions take place between Nero and some other characters... not spoiling anything. Thanks and enjoy!  
**

* * *

"Alright," Sokka declared as the others grabbed their belongings, "Then to Ba Sing Se we go, no more distractions."

"Hello fellow refugees!", a bearded man with a grin said, coming down from the road with two women following him. Nero scrambled for his coat as he pulled down his right sleeve as far as it would go. Sokka raised an eyebrow at the newcomers, the last thing they needed was more things slowing them down.

"So are you guys headed to Ba Sing Se too?" Aang guessed.

"Sure are, we're trying to get there before my wife Ying has her baby." the man replied, smiling at the women to his right.

"Great, we can travel through the Serpent's Pass together." Katara offered.

Ying was taken aback, "The Serpent's Pass? Only the truly desperate take that deadly route."

"Deadly route?" Toph punched Sokka in the shoulder, "Great pick Sokka."

"Well we are desperate." Sokka said, rubbing his arm.

"You should come with us to Full Moon Bay." the man suggested, "Ferry's take refugees across the lake. Its the fastest way to Ba Sing Se."

"And its hidden there," Ying added, "so the Fire Nation can't find it."

It was Katara's turn to be sarcastic, "Hm... peaceful ferry ride, or deadly pass."

Sokka frowned as they followed there new companions up the path.

"Hang on, I'll be right with you." Nero hung back away from the group. Removing the bandages still in his pocket, he wrapped his arm up again, letting out a sigh of relief, as he ran to catch up with the group.

* * *

A pair of earth benders lowered the stone slab that lead to the loading docks. People from all over the Earth Kingdom were scattered around the place, hoping to find a safe haven beyond the walls of Ba Sing Se. They walked up to the counter to get there tickets, as an odd man was being dragged away by some guards screaming something about cabbages.

"Um... five tickets for the ferry to Ba Sing Se please?" Aang asked sheepishly.

"Passports?" The women behind the counter asked in a monotone voice.

"Uh... no one told us we had to have passports."

"Don't you know who this is?" Sokka stepped in, "He's the Avatar."

The women scoffed, "I see fifty "Avatars" a day, and by the way, not a very impressive costume."

Momo popped out of Aang's shirt and screeched.

"And besides, no animals allowed. Do I need to call security?"

"That, won't be necessary." Aang stepped back, as the women called for the next in line.

"Ill take care of this." Toph marched up to the counter, sliding over some sealed document, "My name is Toph Beifong, and I'll need five tickets."

"Ah! The golden symbol of the flying bore!" she remarked, "It is my pleasure to help anyone of the Beifong family."

"It is your pleasure. As you can see, I am blind, and these four imbeciles are my valets."

"But, the animal-"

Toph finished for her, "Is my seeing eye lemur."

The women had been convinced, "Well, normally its only one ticket per passport, but this document is so official... I guess its worth five tickets."

"Thank you very much." Toph grabbed the tickets and walked off.

Sokka smirked, "Alright, we scammed that lady goo- Hey!" Someone had grabbed him from behind.

"Tickets and passports." The guard demanded, holding out her hand.

Nero rested his face into his palm. Just when he thought their luck had changed for the better, something always had to go awry.

"Is there a problem?" Sokka held up his hands.

"Yeah, I got a problem with you." the guard leaned in, "I've seen your type before, probably sarcastic, think your hilarious, and lemme guess, your traveling with the Avatar?"

They all stood silent for a moment, exchanging wary glances.

"Do I know you?"

"You mean you don't remember?" the guard grabbed his collar and made a fist with her other hand, "Maybe you remember this."

Nero reached for his blade, expecting the worse, as the guard planted a kiss on Sokka's cheek. The tension eased, as Sokka hugged the guard and exclaimed:

"Suki!"

"Sokka its so good to see you. Come on, lets go up here." She motioned for them to follow her up to one of the towers overlooking the port.

"You look so different without your makeup." Katara said, "and the new outfit."

"That crabby lady down there makes all the security guards wear them." now turning her attention to Sokka, "And look at you, sleeveless guy, been working out?"

Sokka blushed, "I'll grab a tree branch and do a few chin touches now and then. Nothing major."

Nero felt out of his element at this arrival of the group's old friend, Toph looked over at him shrugged, indicating that she had never met Suki either. Sokka took notice of this and introduced them.

"Oh, by the way, this is Toph, Aang's earth bending teacher."

Turning towards Nero he said, "And this is Nero... and well... we just met him actually out in the Si Wong Desert... it's kind of a long story, but he helped up make it out alive after Appa went missing. That's actually why we are headed to Ba Sing Se, we hope to find him there."

Suki turned towards Aang, "I'm so sorry to hear that. Are you doing okay?"

Aang became annoyed at the question, "I'm doing fine. Will everybody stop worrying about me?"

The rest were cut off before they could voice there concerns for the boy's well being:

"Avatar Aang!" Ying called up at them in a flustered voice, "You have to help us, someone took all of our belongings! Our passports, our tickets, everything's gone!" She broke into tears as her husband consoled her.

"I'll talk to the lady for you." Aang reassured as he walked down the stairs and up to the counter.

"Our friends here had there passports taken, is there any cha-"

"No passports, no tickets." The women said rigidly.

"But she pregnant," the Avatar pleaded, "and all there stuff was stolen, you have to make an exception."

"No exceptions! If I just gave away tickets willy-nilly to anyone, there would be no more order! And you know what that means? No more civilization!"

"What if we gave them our tickets?" Aang tried to reason with the woman's incoherent babbling.

"No!" She yelled, slamming her hand down on the table.

"But-"

"Next!"

The Avatar walked away from the counter in defeat.

"Don't worry, you'll get to the city safely." He assured the couple, taking a pause.

"I'll lead you through the Serpent's Pass."

Nero and Sokka had the same reaction. They knew they were desperate, but there was a war to be won. They couldn't afford to stop and help everyone that needed it. Besides, winning the war would be beneficial to everyone. Nero raised his hand, but decided is was best not to argue this one out. Aang was to compassionate to abandon someone who had asked for their help directly.

"Well, we better get going if we want to make good time." Sokka announced as he examined his maps. Turning to Nero he said, "Nero, I think its time for your first job as a part of team Avatar." handing him the tickets they no longer had a use for, "Find someone who needs these while I plan out the route we are going to take."

Nero accepted his job, took the tickets, and began to walk among the refuges. Scanning the crowd, he thought to himself, who was he to deem who needed these more than others? Everyone here seemed pretty desperate. He then turned to the source of an argument that had broken out near the counter.

"What do you mean I need a passport?" A teen just a bit younger than Nero lashed at the women behind the counter.

"Lee, calm down. We can always find another way to Ba Sing Se." said an old man behind him, resting his hand on his shoulder. Taking a sigh, he turned around, revealing a horrible red scar across his left eye. Nero felt sorry for him, he could relate to having some strange mark for the world to point at, the only difference was, this teen had it on his face, where as Nero could hide his arm.

"I guess your right uncle."

Nero had made up his mind. Walking over them, he nodded to the women that had turned them down, "Yeah she's a bit high strung. Anyway, I think I can help out with your problem." He held out two tickets.

"Really?" The boy raised an eyebrow, "Your just going to give us tickets? What's the catch?"

"Lee, you should learn to be more trusting of others." the old man turned to Nero, "Thank you for your hospitality young man, but I must ask, why would you give up two perfectly good tickets?"

Nero took a liking to the elders kindness, "Me and a couple of my friends decided to go a different way, and we already had the tickets. In fact, I still have three more if you know anybody that needs them."

"Three you say?" A boy about the same age as Lee came from behind him along with two others.

Nero could tell they had come some way to arrive here. The boy that had approached him was wearing a blue-sleeved red shirt with shoulder pads. Armed with two hook swords at his side and chewing a blade of wheat grass, he introduced himself.

"My name is Jet, and these are my Freedom Fighters," he looked at his companions, "Longshot and Smellerbee."

Nero listened as he went on:

"I've done some things in the past that I'm not that proud of. That's why I'm heading to Ba Sing Se, for a new beginning."

Nero had to admit, Jet's honesty about himself was something that not everyone could do. He scanned over them and said, "Ah what the hell, go get your new beginning. I'm going to be there in hopefully a day or two, so who knows, I might see you there." He handed his last three tickets to Jet and his friends.

Jet smiled, "Thanks a lot... Hey, I didn't happen to catch your name."

Turning back for a moment, he said, "Nero."

Meeting back up with the group, he saw that Suki had white and red paint on her face, and was now wearing drastically different clothing. He shrugged, figuring that this was the cloths the worrier usually donned outside of her day job. Sokka saw Nero approaching:

"So did you give our tickets away?"

"Sure did. You figure out how we are getting to the Serpent's Pass?"

"Yeah I got it all planned out... oh, also Suki coming along."

"Kinda figured that much from the getup."

"Alright, lets get going."

* * *

They approached the edge of the rocky bay. The sign post that denoted the entrance to the narrow path that wound over the water had a message carved into the side of it's left post.

"Abandon hope." Katara read the inscription wearily.

"How could we abandon hope? Its all we have." Ying said, resting her head her husband's chest.

"I don't know," Aang answered, looking out into the waves, "The monks used to say that hope is just a distraction. So maybe we do need to abandon it."

Katara had feared Aang was getting worse, "What are you talking about?"

"Hope isn't going to get us into Ba Sing Se, and it's not going to find Appa." The distraught Avatar began to walk up the Serpent's Pass, "We need to focus on what we're doing right now, and that's getting across this pass."

Katara saw there was no point in arguing with him right now, "Okay, if you say so."

The walked up the initial slope of the pass and worked their way around to the outside. Looking out to a passing Fire Nation ship that glided along, Suki said:

"The Fire Nation controls the western lake. Rumor has it they're working on something big on the other side and they don't want anyone to find out what it is."

They continued a couple more paces before the ground beneath Yang's husband began to fall.

Toph quickly slammed down her foot and earth bent a small platform to catch the man, bringing him back up.

"I'm okay." he announced as the rocks splashed into the lake below. While the man's life had been saved, they had gained the attention of the passing ship.

"They've spotted us! Let's go, let's go!" Sokka commanded as the ship flung a flaming boulder at the team.

Nero immediately reacted, spun around, summoned the mysterious katana in his still bandaged right hand, and in one swift motion sent out another wave of blue energy, slicing the boulder in half, making it land safely in the water. The katana disappeared.

"Go! Get out of here, I'll handle this." he barked as the group ran around the bend to safety. He made sure they had all fled and that no one could see him, "Alright, now its about time I got to use this thing." he said with a devilish grin.

The boat launched another fireball, and this time, Nero summoned the blue floating arm once again, caught the fireball, and whipped it back at the boat with twice the speed it had came at him with. An explosion rang out at the smell of searing metal filled the air. Satisfied with his work, he jogged down the path to catch up with the group.

* * *

It was getting late, Aang and Nero had just finished setting up the tents, and Sokka was working on a fire.

"Come on... Gah!" Sokka rummaged through their stuff, "We're all out of flint, how are we going to start a fire?" He looked at the rest of them for an answer, "Aang you want to give some fire bending a try?" Aang shot him a sour look, so Nero could only assume that he didn't exactly know how, or had some bad memories tied to it. Nero offered to help:

"Stand back Sokka, I'll give it a try."

He cranked the handle of his blade a couple times as it glowed a familiar red. He stuck it in the center of the fire pit, and gave it a sharp turn, igniting the fire with the propellant in the sword.

"Good work Nero, I knew we had you along for a reason." Sokka joked as he sat down and enjoyed the warmth. The others joined him as Ying, her husband, and the friend the brought along all went to there tent to get a good nights sleep.

They sat quietly for a moment, just listening to the soft crackly of the fire as they enjoyed each others company.

Katara was first to speak, "So Nero," she gestured at their surroundings, "looks like we're at camp. I think this would be a good time to let some things off your chest, don't you think?"

Nero had totally forgotten the promise he made, but he knew she was right.

"Yeah," he rubbed his eyes and sighed, "I guess your right."

* * *

**Also quick props to sanddrake111 for your review, thanks for the positive feedback, really means a lot.**


	6. Chapter 6: Disclosure

**Hey look, its chapter 6, Nero abandons his secretive ways, some other stuff happens... yeah. Thanks and enjoy!**

* * *

"So where do you want to start?" Nero began, the group had his full attention, "Your the ones with the questions, so ask away."

They all surly had questions, but Aang asked first,

"So have you had it your whole life?"

Nero didn't need clarification, "No. Some of my earliest memories are of a orphanage. They took me in from who knows where, and I spent a good chunk of my childhood there. Though eventually, I got too old and they kicked me out. Only a couple of months after that... damn, I'd never forget the day."

Nero was lost in thought for a moment, preparing the details about the story, "It was raining like hell. Just pouring. At the time I had a couple gold pieces, so I figured I would spend the night at a inn. I rented a room, and I remember sitting on the bed, just feeling... I don't know... weird. I needed something to take my mind off the feeling, so I sat at the desk in the room and worked on the design for my sword a bit more, this was before I had actually made it of course. Anyway, I started feeling feverish. Like really damn hot. I tore off as much clothing as I could but it still felt like I was in a volcano, my arm, especially was acting up. When I fell asleep that night, I had all kinds of strange dreams, laughing daemons, demanding more power... or something. Its kinda hard to remember. The next morning I woke up, and everything was fine... except for... well you know. As you can imagine, I freaked out, and hell, at first I figured I was still dreaming. The door to my room opened, and the inn keeper had looked right at my arm, but didn't seem to care. I asked her about last night, and if she heard anything weird. She laughed and then told me that I had been there for six days, and that she had been taking care of me. When I asked her about my arm, she told me that since the day I got there and passed out, that it had been happening slowly. Every day, she said that rough patches of tough, red and blue skin would break through my own, getting blood all over the bed I was staying in. I guess I haven't really thought about how lucky I was to be asleep for the whole thing, it sounded really painful actually."

They were dead silent, listening with intrigue, as Nero gathered his thoughts again, "My best guess over the years has been that I always had it in me...or at least it took some time to trigger. I mean, I had always been kinda strong, healed faster from fights with the other boys at the orphanage, and weirdest of all, my hair had always been white. But the day my arm changed, maybe it was just that I never had put my abilities to the test, but it sure seemed like I was a hell of a lot stronger. It took a while for me to even realize what the thing could do... I had been traveling through some Earth Kingdom colonies when a group of bandits tried to jump me. In the fight, it kind of happened by accident."

Sokka sat wide eyed at the tale, before asking a second question, "So what about that sword that you used in the desert that you used to save Momo?"

Nero took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled while scratching his head, "Alright this ones a bit tougher to explain, but I knew for a while I was going to have to explain myself about all this stuff, and in the time, I think I came up with a good analogy." He turned to Aang, "So Aang here has the Avatar state, right?" They nodded in a agreement, "A state where he can tap into a stronger power that's inside him..." Nero trailed off for a moment, "I guess you could say I have something like that. I can't really show you right now, I'm pretty tired and it takes a lot of energy to do, but if you ever see me in a fight, and I look... different, please don't be scared, okay?"

The group looked confused at his vague description, but let him continue.

"Regardless, there was a time in my life where I wasn't travelling alone... she was an earth bender I met in one of the colonies. She was like me, a drifter. We travelled together for a while, and we became really good friends. She even helped me a bit with the design of my sword."

Nero smiled a the memory, becoming a bit glassy eyed, "She never knew about my arm, but still, for the time we travelled together, I couldn't help but think she new I was lying with my "burn" excuse. Anyway, there was one night, the village we were staying in got hit by a Fire Nation raid and..."

Nero paused, tear ran down the right side of his face, he quickly wiped it away, "I saw her get killed, right in front of me, and I just wasn't fast enough. I was so mad... I couldn't... control myself. That's when it happened, I found my... overdrive mode... I guess you could call it. It wasn't until after the whole ordeal that I calmed down, and I found out that I had some sword in my hand. It didn't look familiar, but it sure felt like it. Holding it my hands and closing my eyes, I think of the name, "Yamato", so that's what I've been calling it."

The rest of gang's mood had been turned rotten with the somber story, but Nero pressed on.

"And this is where the facts stop and my theories begin. The power that resides in my arm, I don't feel like its new... like it used to belong to someone, or something else. And whatever that someone or something is, I think that katana used to belong to it. I mean, you guys saw it back in the desert, it doesn't have the properties of any normal sword I've ever used. It faster, it can cut things that aren't even close to it, and it comes out of my damn arm. It takes some energy to summon it, but not as much as activating, my "Avatar state"... I guess."

The group was bewildered at the teens odd claims, but they had no choice but to accept what he said. They had seen some of these things first hand. Sokka had to comment:

"You know, I have been known as the guy in the group to come up with nicknames for things, cause we need a good one for this "Avatar state" of yours. I can't think of one right now, but maybe once we get a chance to see it I'll get back to you."

Nero's expression changed, "Thanks Sokka, you always know how to lighten the mood." He began to look around the fire, "Anybody else have anything they want to know?"

They shook there heads in unison. Nero's long tale had taken a lot out of all of them, so they said goodnight to each other and went to sleep.

* * *

The Sun's glimmer off the water awoke Nero. He took several watery blinks, yawned, and stretched him arms. Looking around, he saw that he was the first one awake. Ying, her husband, and her friend were still asleep in there tent, and the others lay sprawled on the ground in sleeping rolls. The only sound to be heard was the water rushing up against the rock. Nero took in the tranquillity for a moment, before putting back on his coat, arming himself with his trusty sword. He began to wake the others up for the day they had ahead of them. As they packed up there things, Sokka estimated that they only had about a quarter of the way to go before escaping the Serpent's Pass. They began to resume the journey before quickly getting stopped short. The path abruptly stopped, and only continued about two hundred feet across the way. Katara had an idea:

"Everyone, single file." she commanded, bending the water around them to cut out a path in the water, slowly wrapping it around them to form an air bubble that now walked along the bed of the lake.

"Aang, I need help." Katara struggled to sustain a bubble big enough to fit all of them.

The Avatar handed Toph his staff as he aided in the process. Nero looked around him. It was like nothing he had ever seen. Fish swam right by them, as Momo batted at them through the wall of water. They were all caught up in the mystique of the phenomena, so caught up that none of them noticed the sound of rushing water that was coming from behind them. A gargantuan snake like figure penetrated the groups air bubble. Water flooded it quickly as Toph shot them to the surface with a small platform for them to stand on. At the surface, Nero only had a split second to take in his surroundings. By the looks of it, they were only half way across the water. The beast now revealed itself in full. The sea serpent thrusted at them, as Aang threw a quick gust of wind at it, batting it away. Nero turned to Katara:

"Make an ice bridge and get everyone across safely. I'll handle ugly over here."

Katara jumped over the water and made a sheet of ice, as the group made it to safety. Toph lingered,

"Toph what the hell are you doing, go with the others!"

"I can't see on ice!"

The beast came in for a second strike, Nero evaded as the little rock they were standing on began to crumble.

"Alright, alright, I'm going." Toph quivered, as she followed the voice of Sokka, who was yelling from the other side.

Slowly inching across the ice, the beast turned toward her. Nero tried to redirect its attention.

"Hey asshole! Over here!" He slammed his sword into the ground, but to no avail. The creature threw itself at Toph, sending her flying and destroying the bridge. She thrashed in the water:

"Help! I can't swim!"

Suki jumped into the water and swam out to Toph, grabbed her, and brought her to safety. Nero looked over, to see some blood trailing behind them. It didn't seem to bad, but Toph had been injured. Nero's anger was rising. The serpant's attention was still on the blind warrior. Nero thought to himself:

"Alright, that's it, nobody is going to die today, not on my watch." quickly unwrapping his right arm.

The teens body began to radiate with the same light blue that his arm usually emitted. The glow encapsulated him, growing brighter and brighter. Eventually, a flash of light grabbed the attention of the monster. The group looked to see Nero. His eyes glowed a deep crimson, and was now accompanied by some figure that seemed to be made up of the blue aura. This figure had a demonic resemblance, with horns jutting from the sides of its head and spikes on its shoulders. It mimicked every action that Nero made. Nero then spoke in what sounded like two voices, one Nero's and the other a much deeper sounding one:

"Hey, so now I'm good enough for you." He eyed the creature as it began to snake around him. It lunged, Nero quickly raised his right arm, as the ghostly being behind followed suit, growing bigger than before. Just like at the library, when Nero has attacked the spirit with the phantasmal arm, the specter behind him seemed to be able to change its size. Grabbing the monster by its head, Nero screamed:

"Go to hell!" as he whipped his right arm over his head, the demon followed suit. The giant serpent let out a hideous scream as it flew in an arc above Nero's head, finally meeting its collision with the water. The force of colliding with the lakes surface stunned the monster, as a fine mist sprayed over him. With the demon now at its regular size again, Nero beckoned for Yamato, and as he drew it, the phantom drew his own blade. Not needing to charge an attack as he did previously, Nero swung the sword rapidly in the monsters direction, as blue waves of energy cut it one by one. The beast ceased is shrieking as the water around its body began to turn a fowl shade of red. Nero fell to his knees, breathing heavily, as Yamato and wraith that had assisted him vanished.

"Nero!" Katara yelled to him across the water, reforming the ice bridge. She made her way to him and helped him up. "Are you okay?"

Nero nodded, resting on her shoulder as they made there way back to the group. Once on land, Nero  
collapsed up against the wall.

"Hang on," he breathed, "I just- I just need a second."

Toph slumped against the wall next to him, holding the gash on her left leg.

"Hey, did that bastard snag ya?" Nero asked.

"Yeah just bit." she paused, "Now I know I can't see and all, but hey, whatever you did to save us back there, good job punk."

Nero managed a sneered, "Have I been here long enough to earn a nickname from Toph?"

Laughing slightly at his expense, "Yeah, I guess you have."

Nero had a realization as he looked up, Ying was looking at him in horror.

He looked at her, stood up, and held up his human hand. "Hey look, I'm sure you-"

Her husband took defensive stance in front of his wife, "Stay back! I mean it! Don't take another step!"

Nero furrowed his brow, taking a step back, "Whoa man just take it easy. These guys will vouch for me." motion to the others.

Katara affirmed as she walked towards Ying, "He's right, just take a moment and I'm sure we can-"

"You too! Don't come any closer! I don't know what I go my wife and I into, but I'm not sticking around to find out."

Aang attempted to justify, "Please sir, we don't mean any-"

It was no use, "When I said don't come any closer that means all of you!" narrowing his eyes at Aang, "I'll bet your not even the Avatar."

There was no reasoning with him, any trust they had put in the group was now shattered. He backed up slowly, and then took off down the path with his wife's hand. Nero hung his head, slowly reached into his pocket and began wrapping his arm again. The rest of the group put their hands on his shoulders.

"Its okay." Aang consoled him, "You did the best you could, and that's what counts."

Silence hung over the calm waves that slowly bushed up against the face of the pass. Aang spoke again:

"In fact, I think I get it now. I just saw a defenseless couple march across a deadly pass with no fear, just because they thought they had the protection of the Avatar. It wasn't until they doubted that fact that they became scared. If there is anything that I can't go and abandon right now, its hope. I realize how many people are putting there hope into me, that I will be able to end this war."

Nero recognized the look on the kid's face, he was coming to terms with something big.

"I thought I was trying to be strong, when really, I was just running away from my feelings. Seeing how a family could be so quickly torn apart by loosing there hope, its made me remember how I felt when I lost Appa."

Nero looked up at Aang , "Well then go get em' back kid."

Aang smiled, extended his glider, "I will."

Sokka lightly punched Aang's arm, "See you in the big city."

Aang nodded and took off to the wall of Ba Sing Se that now lay on the horizon, Momo following. The rest of them would probably catch up with him by the end of the day on foot. Nero was a little frustrated at the events that had just taken place, but was pleased that Aang was now in a good frame of mind again. With the Sun high in the sky and wall of Ba Sing Se looming in the distance, they began their travel once again.

* * *

**Quick props and thanks to Nefarious Seraph 13 for your review, glad to hear your enjoying it, but I don't think Dante will be making an appearance. Though I can recommend a fic by the name of Avatar: Taste the Blood by Xelskyr on this site. Its a Avatar DMC crossover featuring Dante, and Vergil as the antagonist. The story isn't finished, but its still a good read.**


	7. Chapter 7: Impenetrable City

**Oh man, chapter 7 is here, sorry for the delays, something has been sapping my motivation from me recently, so this chapter has been under construction for a couple of days. So this chapter is mainly advancing the plot + some actiony stuff. Thanks and enjoy!**

* * *

Nero wiped his brow as the wall grew closer and closer. The Sun was high in the sky, they had been walking all day, and he was still exhausted from his fight with the sea monster back in the pass. These things aside, he was exited for where their journey had brought them. Throughout all his travels, Nero had never been behind the walls of Ba Sing Se. He could only hope that the reputation of the city would live up to itself. Over the past week, he had been traveling without breaking pace, and only desired a day or two for him to relax while Aang searched for Appa. Staring over the rolling hills towards the city, Sokka said:

"Okay, I think I got it with this one. How about... "The Screamin' Demon"?"

Nero shook his head, "No, that one doesn't sound good either. Maybe you should stop trying to make them rhyme."

"Alright, how about... "Nero's Hero?"

Nero threw up his hands, "What did I just say? Besides, that doesn't even make sense."

"Hm... Oh, I got it! How about, "Devil Trigger"? You know, because it triggers a devil? Sounds catchy right?"

Nero glanced up with a slight grin, "Devil Trigger, hey Sokka that doesn't sound half bad. I think that's the one we should stick with."

"Oh oh oh! Then I know what we should call your arm! "The Devil Bringer"! You know, because it brings out the devil?"

"Hey, your on a hell of a roll today Sokka, keep this up and-" He stopped himself at the sight of a familiar shadow skating along the ground. He looked up:

"Aang?" Nero put his hand up to shield the Sun as the Avatar returned to their side, "What are you doing I thought you were going to look for Appa?"

Aang wore a grave expression, "Something stopped me. Something big." then began to walk with them.

"Uh... alright," Nero was confused at the boys cryptic tongue as they approached the wall.

Aang turned to Toph, wordlessly requesting her help as the two earth bent a platform that raised the group up the magnificent wall.

"Now what could be so important that Appa has to wait?" Sokka questioned with worry. He knew as much as the rest of them that if it was big enough to distract Aang from getting his bison back, then it had to be bad.

"That." Aang pointed to his far right as they neared the top of the wall.

What the Avatar pointed to could only be described as a massive hydraulic drill. The mechanical beast poured steam out of hundred of holes along the side as it lurched forward, metal against metal whaling with every inch. Along side it marched handfuls of tanks for ground support. Nero became wide eyed, it wasn't even noon and they were already up for another fight with a giant enemy.

Sokka examined the situation closely, enchanted by the marvel that was the machine and terrified by the horrors that might ensue. He went on to describe the drill to Toph, but was interrupted by a pair of soldiers who stood atop the wall with them.

"What are you people doing here? Civilians aren't allowed on the wall."

Aang stepped up, "I'm the Avatar, take me to who ever is in charge.

The soldiers looked at each other briefly:

"Alright, come this way."

The group followed them under an archway on the wall nearby. There, they met with a man robed in prestigious Earth Kingdom clothing. Nero's best guess was that this guy was either a General, or at least in charge of defending the outer wall. One of the two soldiers who had led them here walked up to the man, leaned over, and whispered something in his ear. He nodded, stood up and spoke:

"It is an honor to welcome you to our city young Avatar, but your help is not needed."

Aang raised an eyebrow, "Not needed?"

"Not needed." the man echoed, "I have the situation under control, and I can assure you the Fire Nation cannot penetrate this wall."

They followed him as he strolled out from under the archway. He continued:

"Many have tried to break through it, but none have succeeded. It is al-"

Toph cut him off, "What about the Dragon of the West? He got in."

Nero didn't recognize the name, but could tell the man became very nervous at its mention.

"Uh... yes... technically yes, but... he... was quickly expunged."

Toph folded her arms at the man's response, but said nothing. He cleared his throat and resumed:

"But, nevertheless, that is why the city is named Ba Sing Se, its the impenetrable city. They don't call it Na Sing Se... that means penetrable city."

Nero had just about enough of this guy, whoever he was, "Alright cut the bullshit old man, we still got the giant problem of a drill out there. What do you propose we do to keep your city to its name?"

"You should watch your tongue," the man said with scorn, "a big mouth like that might greatly impact the experience you have inside our lovely city."

Nero didn't know exactly what he was eluding to, but decided to press on, "Just answer the question."

"I've sent an elite platoon of earth benders called the "Terra Team" out to deal with it."

"That's a good name." Sokka scratched his chin, "Very catchy."

Katara rolled her eyes at her brothers expense before turning to the scene that lay in front of them. The earth benders left there post to enter battle. Flipping over a tank to clear some room, the moved up next to the drill and shot pillars of earth into it's sides. Though this was to no avail, as the machine contracted, the earth benders efforts crumbled.

"Look out!" one of the soldiers cried as a handful of stilettos were blocked by a freshly created earth shield.

A girl with straight black hair and a long red coat slid down the side of the drill, throwing dozens of small knifes at them. After her, a younger girl with short brown hair that turned into a long braided pony-tail and light red cloths followed. Landing in the middle of the earth benders formations, she dogged their attacks and delivered a series of precise quick jabs to the soldiers, each one dropping faster than the last. Soldiers from the wall slid down it to regroup there fallen comrades. Now turning back towards the general, Katara scoffed:

"So how does the Avatar's help sound now?"

The man dropped to his knees, "Yes, please. I've never seen a squad of my finest earth benders be taken down so quickly. Please you must do anythi-"

Nero interjected, "Alright, alright we got it. I'm just going to need to ask a quick favor of you."

"Y-Yes! Anything for a friend of the Avatar!"

"Your men up here don't seem to be doing much damage to this thing by just tossing rocks at it, and you can see what happens when they try to attack on the ground. I'm going to need all of your men to evacuate the wall."

"What? That's preposterous! You can't hardly expect me-"

"You will evacuate your men, or we will leave your precious city and never look back."

The man stood in silence for a moment eyeing the white haired boy, finally, he gave in with a sigh and barked:

"Men, fall back to the inner wall now!"

The earth benders nodded at his command and slid down the inside of the wall. He then turned back to Nero, but before he could speak, the teen interjected:

"You too."

"Alright, but you and your friends better know what your doing." He then looked at Aang, "We are putting a lot of faith in your abilities Avatar." Walking over to the inner wall, he earth bent himself a small platform, and followed his troops. Once he was out of sight, Toph spoke,

"Okay, so what was that all about?"

Nero smirked, "Well, if we want to be in this city for a while, it might help if nobody finds out about my Devil Bringer... wow Sokka gotta hand it to you, that name sounds better every time I say it."

Sokka grinned, "Hey what can I say, ingenious naming is just part of who I am."

Katara voiced her concerns as Nero began to unwrap his arm, "Nero, after what happened back in the Serpent's Pass, do you think your up for another fight so soon?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I don't think I'll be able to do exactly what I did back there twice in the same day, but someone needs to stay out here and handle the ground troupes and tanks before you guys can advnace. That's where I come in."

Katara nodded, as Toph and Aang bent another platform to lower the group back down. Once on the ground, Nero glanced back at the others:

"Stay back here, I'll go out first and clear you a path."

Nero drew his blade in his left hand and rolled his right shoulder. Ever since he had discovered his Devil Trigger, he hardly ever had the need to use it, so it still took a lot out of him. Even so, Nero figured that he still had enough fight in him before the day was done. Giving the Red Queen's hilt a couple of twists, as it growled he thought:

"Hell, the sooner we wrap this up, the sooner I can get some time to relax."

A barrage of fire interrupted his daydream. Quickly flipping over it, he landed, extended his Devil Bringer to pick up the Fire Nation tank that had attacked him, and with a grunt, flung it underneath the drill. Metal shrieked as the tank was devoured, and Nero moved on to preform the same technique on three other tanks. Just before he was about to signal the others, Nero felt a rapid succession of quick, sharp pains in his side.

"Ah fuck that hurt!" he moaned as he turned to see the same two girls that had attacked the earth benders standing on top of the drill. The black haired girl stood there, twirling a small knife around her finger, smugly grinning at the other girl, who then spoke:

"Uh Mai... I don't think you got him..."

She stopped spinning the knife and quickly looked back at Nero, who was pulling the knifes out of his side one by one, not breaking eye contact with her. Horrified and confused, Mai just stood there as Nero removed the last dagger.

"Hey do you want these back? They're still in good shape." Nero quipped, as he too began to spin one of the stilettos around his finger.

Mai quickly readied another round of knifes as she yelled to her comrade, "Ty Lee, don't just stand there!"

The other girl flipped off the machine and landed behind Nero, quickly landing flurries of quick jabs on his spine. Nero whirled around and caught her left wrist in his right hand.

"Wha- what is that?" Ty Lee stammered, eyes locked on Nero's demonic arm.

He looked back at the girl and softened his gaze for a moment. He looked into her eyes and saw something that he recognized back from the couple who had left them at the Serpent's Pass, genuine fear. She didn't seem like a menacing Fire Nation soldier, or a ruthless fire bender. There was a sense of innocence surrounding her that Nero couldn't put his finger on, and at the time, he felt sorry for making her so scared. Even if he thought sparing her might be something he would come to regret later, he let her go. She circled around him, backed away slowly, and retreated back to Mai's side. The two of them then ran back up the drill and through a hatch in the side of the main cabin. Nero stood there for a second, questioning the actions he had just taken, then shook his head, and signaled for the rest of the group to join them. They came running up out of the trenches and onto the battlefield.

"Alright, lets move in." Sokka commanded, "Toph help us out. Nero, stay out here, we still need someone to clear out the rest of these tanks."

Toph nodded and began to earth bend a tunnel for the group to move underneath the drill with. Several minutes passed before Toph came out the way she came. Nero questioned:

"So your sticking with me huh?"

"Looks like it punk, cause there is no way that I'm going inside that metal monster where I can't bend."

"Alright, that's fair. Now, lets get to work." Nero leered.

Nero continued to use his Devil Bringer to smash and rip the tanks to bits, while Toph earth bent pillars that impaled them. After several minutes, Nero concluded:

"Alright, that should be all of them on this side, lets move over the other. The drills already made contact with the wall, come on we don't have much time left."

Toph nodded as she shot a spike of the ground up from under her feet, sending her to the top of the drill and over the other side. Nero leaped into the air, as some mysterious violet energy accumulated under his feet, and he seemingly jumped again without touching the ground, landing on top of the hull. He turned sharply to his left to see Aang standing in the doorway that Mai and Ty Lee had escaped through.

"Did you guys do what you needed to do?" Nero asked as Aang walked past him towards the front of the drill.

"Yeah, we weakened it from the inside, and now its time to deliver the final blow. Cut a "X" right here." Aang replied, pointing to specific spot on the drill that was near the wall.

Nero could see what the Avatar had planned. Aang stepped to the side, as Nero injected his blade with propellant. After drawing the sword and delivering two quick, perpendicular slashes, Aang earth bent a massive wedge out of a boulder that had been thrown before their arrival. Then, placing the wedge into the cross, he formed a ball of air beneath him and used its momentum to carry him up the wall. Nero watched the boy as he went skyward, but had quickly ducked under a shot of blue fire that just grazed his hair. The fire then smashed into the earth wedge, obliterating it completely. Nero had to think on his feet as Aang had reached the peak of his elevation, and began to speed down back towards the ground, using his air bending to push him faster. Before turning to face his attacker, Nero grabbed his sword from his back once again and plunged it into the "X", hilt up. Then, in one swift motion, he spun around, drawing Yamato from thin air as he allowed its blue energy to attack whoever was behind him. His foe now faced him after swiftly evading the strike. She was about the same age as the others who had previously attacked him, with medium length black hair that came up to be tied in a prestigious Fire Nation crown. Accompanying this, she wore a sadistic grin, seemingly indifferent to Nero's supernatural attack. She went in for another shot, firing quick shots of blue fire. One of them caught Nero off guard as it hit him in the leg, and his enemy saw this as an opportunity to put both of her hands together and summon a large burst of fire the stuck Nero across the face. The smoke cleared, and to her surprise, the burn marks that resided on the teens cheek quickly faded. She stood there, confused, just before Aang landed with all of his gathered speed on Nero's sword. All at once, the drill erupted in brown, murky fluid as the energy from Aang's impact threw Nero and his unknown attacker off simultaneously. Nero flipped and spiraled off the right side of the drill, thought quickly contorted himself in mid air to land on his feet. Looking up, he examined what was left of the drill. Bits of steel rained from the sky along with a mist of sticky brown liquid. Nero became irritated quickly and muttered:

"Damn it, my coat is covered in mud now. Awesome, just awesome."

Conveniently, the Red Queen landed just about ten feet from him, sticking out of the ground at a slight angle. Picking it up, he let out a sigh as he walked over to the back of the drill where he could see some of the others regrouping. Katara and Toph both stood there, drenched in mud, as Sokka stood by them, trying not to laugh. Aang flew over, and air bent his friends clean. Nero joined them:

"Hey Aang, you think I could get some of that too?"

Aang smiled and nodded, shooting him with a strong gust of wind.

"Thanks." Nero said with a grin, looking towards the horizon at the setting Sun. His worries about the couple back in the Serpents Pass had finally left him, as he turned to look past the destruction of the Fire Nation's drill and to Ba Sing Se's wall. His mind began to reel with visions of getting into a bed and sleeping for as long as he pleased.

"Are you coming or what punk?" Toph asked, several paces ahead of him with the rest of the group.

Nero shook his head, "Yeah yeah Ill be right there." then steadily ran to catch up.

* * *

**Also as a quick little thing that I could see some people misconstruing, no, Nero and Ty Lee romance sub-plot is NOT a thing, I was just trying to express how Nero might view her character and show a little bit of his compassion to take a break from all the action in this chapter. (to much action=boring sometimes, especially with my writing skills imo)  
**


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